


Career Day

by HowAboutThatSnapback



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Gen, these two needed father-son bonding dang it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-26
Updated: 2017-06-26
Packaged: 2018-11-19 04:04:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11305302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HowAboutThatSnapback/pseuds/HowAboutThatSnapback
Summary: Soos is gonna be the only kid without a parent/guardian at career day… or is he?





	Career Day

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thesnadger](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesnadger/gifts).



> For @thesnadger’s birthday! I hope you enjoy it.

“Hey, Abuelita, are you gonna come to career day tomorrow?” Soos asks as he grabs his work shirt from the clothes’ line.

“ _Los siento_ , Soos,” she sighs while gently combing his tousled hair with her fingers. “I tried to get off, but I work tomorrow.”

Soos sighs quietly. “It’s okay, Abuelita. I understand. I’m gonna ride my bike to work, okay?”

“Be careful, _mi nieto_ ,” she says.

“I will,” Soos assures with a smile and goes inside to change and grab his bike.

His smile falls and he sighs quietly as soon as he’s out of her hearing range.

He’d been really looking forward to having his Abuelita come to his school. Sure, she didn’t have jobs as grand as the others, but she was still an amazing person all the same. He just wanted all of his friends to see that.

Not that he had many friends that didn’t take advantage of him, but he didn’t notice that.

As he enters the Mystery Shack, he walks up to his boss who was currently counting his money. “Hi, Mr. Pines!”

“Hey, kid,” Mr. Pines says while glancing up at him. He does a double take when he notices the kid’s not as… peppy as usual. “Hey, kid, what’s up?”

“Uh, nothing, Mr. Pines,” Soos says.

“Okay,” he shrugs with indifference.

“It’s just that-”

“Here we go.”

“Everyone’s parents are gonna be at career day tomorrow and my Abuelita can’t come because she has to work. I don’t blame her- she’s taking care of me by working all of her jobs- but I just wanted everyone to see how great she is.”

Something in Mr. Pines’ cold, dark, empty soul stirs and he ruffles the boy’s hair. “Don’t worry about it. C’mon, we’ve got a lotta work today.”

Soos barely had time to think about why he was upset. He helped fix the radiator in the car… or rather he watched Mr. Pines do it and handed him the tools he requests while Mr. Pines talked him through the process ( _Gee Mr. Pines, you’d be a great mechanic!_ ). He fixed the vending machine and then changed multiple light bulbs. Instead of letting him eat by himself during lunchtime like he normally would, he at down at the table and gruffly made some excuse. Soos was just happy to have lunch with his boss. And at the end of the day instead of taking the boy home right away like he normally would, he sat down and watched a (dumb) cartoon with him.

Soos yawns and leans back against Mr. Pines’ chair and he finds it hard to keep his eyes open.

At some point he couldn’t open his eyes again even when he tries after feeling himself be picked up like he was five again.

“Moses, you’re heavy, kid,” Mr. Pines grunts while carrying the boy.

Soos tries to open his eyes after he’s placed in the car and finds Mr. Pines carrying his bike with one hand with his helmet in the other hand.

Against his will his eyes close again and he hears the bike being put in the trunk.

He’s only vaguely aware of the drive and can’t quite understand what Mr. Pines and his Abuelita are saying again by the time he’s picked up again and carried to the door.

The last thing he remembers is being tucked in and hearing a quiet, “G’night, kid” just before the door closes.

* * *

Soos sighs as he shrugs on his backback and makes his way down the stairs of the bus.

 _I’ll be the only kid without someone here for career day,_  he thinks.

“Sir! Sir, you can’t park there!”

“Yeah, I can,” a familiar gruff voice says.

“Sir, you have no children here so I’m gonna have to ask you to leave.”

Soos whirls around and sees Mr. Pines standing there with the principle standing in front of him. He’s wearing a nicer suit and he’s wearing a regular tie (the one he normally wears for heists.

“Mr. Pines!” Soos shouts and rushes over. “What’re you doing here?”

Mr. Pines has a faint blush of embarrassment on his face and he straightens his tie. “Hey, kid. Figured I’d pop by.”

“Sir, I’m gonna have to ask you to leave,” the principle says.

“I’m here for the kid’s uh- what was it called that your grandma was comin’ to?”

“Career day,” Soos says and his eyes widen. “You’re coming to my class for career day?”

“Yeah, kid,” Mr Pines says while clearing his throat. “His guardian wrote this for me to be allowed.”

The principle goes over it and sighs. “Alright, I suppose.”

“C’mon, Mr. Pines!” Soos says while grabbing the man’s hand and practically dragging him inside.

“Alright, alright, kid, I’m coming,” Mr. Pines says.

“Hey, Soos, what’s Mr. Mystery doing here with you?” One of his classmates asks.

“He came here because Abuelita couldn’t come,” Soos says.

“You know he doesn’t count, right?” A girl asks.

“What do you mean?” Soos asks.

“He’s not your parent. He’s not even your grandpa,” she points out. “Why couldn’t you get your dad to come?”

Soos looks away with a bitter taste in my mouth at the mention of his father. “My dad’s gone.”

Before she can say anything else Soos rushes off with the bathroom pass at hand with tears in his eyes.

“Soos!”

He’s run halfway down the hall before Mr. Pines catches up to him.

“Lemme go,” Soos says with a thick voice. He doesn’t want anyone- least of all his boss- to see him cry.

Soos’ eyes widen as he’s pulled into a hug- something that’s never happened before.

“I know it’s hard, kid… but it’ll get easier,” Mr. Pines says. “Don’t let what they say get t’ ya- they aren’t worth it… and y’know, it’s okay t’ cry sometimes.”

Soos merely hugs him back a bit harder and quietly asks, “Can we leave?”

Mr. Pines pulls away enough to pull out his handkerchief and gently clean off the boy’s face. “No, that’d let ‘em win… We’re gonna go back in there and we’re gonna get outta here after school and get some ice cream or somethin’. Is that a deal?”

Soos sniffles and nods. “Okay.”

“Atta boy,” Mr. Pines says with a grin and then walks with Soos back to the classroom.

“Soos? And- uh- Mr. Pines?”

The two of them get up and Mr. Pines fixes his suit.

“Everyone, this is my- uh- boss, Mr. Pines. He runs the Mystery Shack,” Soos explains.

“Instead of tellin’ you a bunch of boring stuff about my job, why don’t I show you a bit?” Mr. Pines asks.

He performs little tricks that gets everyone- even the adults- excited and he’s the favorite out of everyone that’s come. Other kids ask him about what it’s like to work at the Mystery Shack and Soos- for once- is really popular other than being taken for granted.

 

Afterwards- as promised- Mr. Pines took him out to get ice cream and let him get anything he wanted. He ended up getting a chocolate ice cream cone with sprinkles while Mr. Pines just got a regular vanilla ice cream cone. Mr. Pines ended up cleaning up his face when he failed to accomplish it like he wanted. Finally it was time for the boy to get home and do his homework for his other classes.

“Thanks for coming and then getting me ice cream, Mr. Pines,” Soos says as he’s dropped off in front of his house.

“No problem, kid,” Mr. Pines says with a smile. “Go on inside and tell Ramona I say hi.”

“Alright, Mr. Pines. L- See you later,” Soos says and then turns, blushing a little at almost slipping up and rushes inside to talk with his auntie.

* * *

Next time Soos shows up for work Stanley’s surprised to find that his grandmother sent some food as gratitude for showing up for career day.

Stanley eats the food and nearly cries over how delicious it is and over the fact that someone’s grateful to him for once. He’s more grateful to the boy for being one of the few good things in his life so he sees no need for himself to get any gift of any kind.

He’s over the moon over the fact that he gets more over the course of a week.

 _I don’t deserve this_ , he thinks. _It was the least I could do for the kid._

He looks at how Soos smiles when he ruffles his hair and feels a small smile wanting to tug itself into existence.

_I don’t deserve him… but… I’m glad he’s here._


End file.
